Brett Francis

9.2

Strong and still accessible. This aged really nicely already with a nose of vanilla, blackberry and white pepper. — 4 days ago

Randy Fillingim

9.2

Wow. Just wow. Quite delicious. 15 years young. Mr. Tannin and Mr. fruit still doing their jobs quite well. Carlisle really knows how to make an excellent Zin. no matter what the year.  — 4 months ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Medium gold color but still youthful looking. Heavy in the glass. Tropical fruit forward nose. Notes of sweet lemons, ripe kiwi, white flowers, lemon pie filling and some gravel. Rich and glycerol in the mouth. Fine grained acidity yields a good backbone to stand up to the fruit. Needed a few hours to open up. Good stuff! — a year ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Tasted blind. Medium gold color. Another great aged white burg nose. Notes of ripe apricot, citrus, river stones, and tan spice. More quiet in the mouth. Lighter in acidity than the 89 LL Latour CC next to it. Grows more power and complexity with air. Still in a good drinking window, but would drink up sooner rather than later. Guessed old 80s Raveneau. — 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.4

From magnum, the 1996 Grande Année pours a brilliant pale gold color with a persistent mousse. Initially, the wine showed more oxidative notes but it freshened up considerably with air (in fact, a tiny amount was leftover for the next morning and it remained brilliant, racy even!). On the nose, notes of almond, citrus, honey, chalky minerals and brioche. On the palate, wine is developing with absolutely brilliant acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and zippy. The 1996 vintage is simply amazing. Here we are, 28 years past vintage and this bright and full of life! Granted, it’s a magnum, but still. Drink now with patience or enjoy through 2046+. — a month ago

Byron C Mayes

9.2

Star bright burnished yellow gold with persistent tiny bubbles and a rapidly dissipating mousse. Abundant nose ("Can I just smell this?" asked my dining partner) of ripe pear and airborne ash. Medium palate is crisp (medium plus acidity) and confirms the nose adding fresh apricot and royal Anne cherry, the latter particularly assertive back palate and on the moderate finish. Pommery's tete du cuvée is on point as always, and this vintage isn't showing its age yet. Complexity to complement almost any cuisine but still in range for that special toast. Drink now through 2030 or so. — 6 months ago

Byron Hewett

9.4

Superb. Still green gold in color. Rich and dense. Lemon zest. — 2 years ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.5

Paler colour than the 76 , medium old gold colour . Quite a lot of bubbles still. This shows much more linear and mineral , quite chalky on the nose and palate but has enough fresh lemon tinged fruits to cover the bones . This is fresher and younger on the palate than the 76 . Long more focused on the finish, higher acidity . This is perfect now and over the next 5-10 years I would imagine . Very much alive and vivid for a Champagne of this age. — 3 months ago

Tom Garland

9.2

From mag

Pop and pour. A wondrous medium gold color. On the nose: Asian pear, oyster shells, lemon, floral, toasted nuts. Taste: great creamy-chalky mouthfeel with lemon, minerals, tart green apple, honey, cider. YUM! Still delicious at 27 years. — 5 months ago

with Brenda

Willie Carter

9.0

A standard that still brings excitement and drama. Medium gold color with plenty of small bubbles. The nose is wonderful with a ton of apples and baked bread. Nice floral accents to match the dried cherry and blackberry notes. Really, really nice.

Composed of the three traditional grapes and injected with a nice bit of reserve wines, this is just one of those bottles that’s always right on time. Powerful, muscular, masculine, and sleek. Lovely fruit on the tongue and an elegant mouthfeel. A classic for a reason. — a year ago